The Last Call
You did it too?
I’d forgotten…
After regressing, my mind was so scattered I almost forgot I even existed. The guy who signed up with me right before I got out of the military—face to face was impossible, and he never called. I’d completely forgotten about him.
[Drink?]
[Nods, but there’s nothing to do anyway. You free?]
[Nope.]
[Where then?]
[Hold on, I need to think.]
I’d normally refuse drinks with some excuse about being busy, but I had a question for him.
‘Why the hell did this supernatural thing happen to me?’
I’d been chasing reasons for weeks, but nothing made sense. The only odd detail about the day I regressed was that I’d bumped into him for the first time in years and had a drink.
‘Shit… could he be connected?’
I made the appointment to check.
[Sure. Where? Not now, evening.]
[Seven? Gangnam station, Gangnam.]
[Quick warning—club’s out.]
[Then Hongdae?]
[Not going.]
[Fuck, come on! You got nothing better to do.]
[Got plenty.]
[Whatever. Seven at Gangnam station, I’ll see you.
The Seung-wook I remembered was cautious, but this version was jumpier, more hyper. Still, the promise was a promise. I had work to finish before I could leave.
“Daniel. The three tracks you sent me. This one is terrifyingly good.”
“Yeah? HAHA. I put in some work!”
“It’s too much. Tone it down a notch. It’s scaring me.”
“Shit! I’m doing my best and it’s still a disaster. Fine. I’ll revise.”
“Good.”
As the day blurred, it was almost quitting time. Normally I’d have made everyone stay late, but today I actually wanted to leave on schedule.
“Everyone, pack it up and head home.”
“What?! You’re the director! The director doesn’t send us home at this time! Reveal yourself!”
Cha Ju-hee stared at me in shock.
“I’m not hiding anything. We were together all morning. I had plans, so I left early. I didn’t want to leave you guys behind.”
“Director, do you have a girlfriend?”
“No, a boyfriend.”
“Hah! Really? That’s… that’s fine! I’m open-minded, I don’t judge!”
“Haa… it’s a guy friend. Even if you’re open-minded, you’re too open. If you’re not leaving now, I assume you’re staying for overtime?”
“Thank you, Director!”
The second the words left my mouth, the team scattered to pack up.
Annoyed, I stuffed Som-mungchi into my bag and sighed.
“Mungchi. Everyone looks wiped from overtime. You haven’t been working much lately, have you? Your job is emotional stability, right? Go comfort anyone who’s stressed. Especially Cha Ju-hee—she’s completely unhinged.”
“Nyaaaa~”
“Good. Do your best from now on.”
I stroked the kitten’s back as I headed home.
“I have a meeting tonight, so I’ll be out for a bit. Can you handle being alone?”
“Nyaa!”
“Good. I believe you.”
“Nyang!”
I left after the kitten gave me its usual cheeky reply.
“Gangnam Station.”
I arrived at 6:59 exactly and stepped out into the crowd. Far away, the familiar silhouette caught my eye. He was a little thicker than I remembered, wearing a cap to hide his short military haircut, but I knew it was him instantly.
He spotted me and waved wildly toward me.
“Hey! Brother!”
I winced at the attention. People were staring, and Seung-wook was jumping around like a kid.
“Ugh… people are looking. What’s so embarrassing about this?”
“It’s not embarrassing. Friends meet, they get happy, right? You been good?”
“Been good. You?”
“Got bigger. Worked out hard~ Unlike you, the lazy bastard who got the cushy military life, your bro got sent to the frontlines. No time to build muscles.”
“Bullshit. Let’s eat. What do you want?”
“I already checked. Follow me!”
Seung-wook led me confidently to some place.
I stared at the sign and frowned.
“Yo.”
“What? ID ready?”
“Not going.”
“Agh! Again?!”
“It’s a bar with atmosphere. You want to hunt?”
“Two lonely guys like us? That’s normal, right? You said no clubs, so I compromised. Why the hell are you acting like this?”
“Shut up and follow. Or I’m leaving.”
“Wait! It’s just a bar! It’s basically the same!”
I ignored him and kept walking. Seung-wook scrambled after me. We passed the bar entrance and ended up at a nearby samgyeopsal place instead.
“Haa… you really dragged me to a samgyeopsal place on my vacation…”
A 30-something salaryman was eating alone, just like I’d pictured. Seung-wook let out a long sigh.
“You saved vacation days, right? Fifteen days?”
“Yeah. Fifteen. Manpower shortage at the GOP base, so I forced everyone else to take leave and finally got some days.”
“Fifteen is plenty. Do your hunting with the others. You saw me go to clubs? You know I’m not going.”
“Everyone else is still in the military… I only have you left…”
True, I’d enlisted earlier than everyone else. I graduated college fast because I was born a year ahead, but I signed up the day after I finished freshman year. My classmates were still on their second year.
“Fine. Let’s drink. What’s the hunt?”
“Good. You thought it through.”
“Soju! Fill it up!”
I poured a full glass. We clinked and downed it without a word.
“Kyahaha!”
“Tastes good? It’s been a while, so it’s bitter.”
“Yihan. You don’t get bitter? I get sweet. You who’ve lived a plain life probably don’t get it, but when life gets hard, soju tastes sweet.”
“Haha. Bullshit.”
I laughed and poured another.
“Cheers.”
“Hey! Why so fast? We’ve got time. Sip slowly, sip slowly. I’ve got military stories for days.”
“I’ve got time. I have to go to work tomorrow.”
“What? Work? Sounds like you got hired.”
“Not hired. I started a company. You’d know if you paid attention.”
“Eh?”
I studied his face. If he were connected to my regression, he should have reacted to my blunt comment.
But he just blinked, confused.
“What the hell are you talking about? Starting a company?!”
“…”
“Yo! What company? School?! What are you starting?!”
“Game company.”
“This crazy bastard! Students don’t start companies! I knew you’d pull this! You know the aunts and uncles? Hyun-hyung?”
His reaction screamed he had no clue.
If this was an act, then this guy wasn’t my friend anymore.
“Yihan. I’m serious. Do you really think a business is worth it? You’re probably asking your uncle for money to build a game studio. But it’s not too late to finish school first. Get your diploma! Insurance, investments, the works. This crazy kid just retired and lost his mind. You’re not this reckless, right?”
At my age I’d have thought twice before giving life advice, but here he was.
I chuckled.
“Idiot.”
“Whoa. I’m giving serious advice and you curse?! Yihan. Starting a company doesn’t mean the game. If you start one, you’re the boss. What do you know about business? Games have a direction, so whatever. But how do you sell it? There are tons of companies that make great products and still go bankrupt, you know?”
“My game is doing well, so stop worrying about me. Sergeant Kim Seung-wook, you’ve got one year left until discharge, right?”
When I mentioned the remaining time, his frown vanished and his eyes widened.
“Doing well? No way. You already released a game?”
“Yeah.”
“When did you start? You’re lying, right?”
“Why would I lie to you? I started right after discharge and released it last October.”
“What’s the name?!”
Seung-wook asked, stunned.
“Dot Hero. Mobile game.”
He pulled out his phone without a word, tapped away, then looked up, alternating between me and the screen.
“Dot Hero? This is it? Number one on the app stores?!”
“Yeah.”
“You actually made this? Mom’s on it?!”
“Crazy bastard. Why would I lie about my mom! It shows up when you search for developers!”
“Hahaha! Fuck! I knew it! Hahaha!”
He laughed heartily, face flushed.
“I told you! You’d succeed!”
“You said I’d cause trouble and didn’t know business and would go bankrupt!”
“Shut up! That was worry! When you were little, you made a notebook RPG and I said you’d be a game maker and succeed! My eye for talent is spot on!”
“…”
I was speechless.
“Wait. Let me evaluate your game.”
He scrolled the store, then looked up shocked.
“Why isn’t it showing? You scammed me?”
“I scam people who can afford it. And you can’t download the Korean version. Make a new Google account and switch it to US.”
“What? Why?”
“There’s a reason…”
The App Store and Google Play wars were still raging.
“Found it! Just what I needed.”
Seung-wook downloaded the app and watched the game while I grilled the meat. After about thirty minutes he looked up, eyes wide.
“This… this is really yours? For real?”
“Yeah. When you reach the credits you’ll see my name in the developers.”
“Wait… there it is! Main Director—Jo Yihan! Hahaha~ I was right! I was right! We director left you waiting too long. Cheers, cheers!”
He drank like it was his own success.
An hour later his face was red and he sighed deeply.
“Haa…”
“Why all of a sudden?”
“I’m happy you’re doing well, but… I feel left behind.”
“What?”
“You’re already in society—starting a company and doing great—while I’m still not discharged. I have to study, graduate, look for a job. Compared to you, I feel at least five years behind.”
“When did you start worrying about the future?”
“Just now. Drinking with you after a long time. Hahaha.”
I didn’t feel the same, but I understood.
‘Because we’re friends.’
We were on the same track; seeing someone pull ahead would sting, especially when tied to the military.
‘But I can’t help him.’
It’d be a shame to pity him, but I couldn’t just hire him into our company. I could give advice when life got hard, but I couldn’t take responsibility for his whole life.
That wasn’t friendship.
And with his standards, he wouldn’t come near a small studio like ours.
“Stop the small talk. Drink.”
“You’re right. My precious vacation—let’s drink crooked-nosed! To Jo Yihan’s success! Cheers!”
“Cheers.”
“Good to drink, but not crooked-nosed yet. I have to work tomorrow.”
“Haa… having one boring friend now who doesn’t even drink to celebrate success. Life’s so tragic.”
I laughed at the forced pity face that looked like a French bulldog.
“Anyway, the market feels off lately. You know anything?”
“What market?”
“The stock market. I’m an economics major. Even in the military I keep up with outside news. Because of the debt ceiling, US politics is chaotic.”
“Tell me more.”
“You used to not care about this stuff, now you’re showing off about starting a business?”
I just looked at him. He scratched his head.
“You said you were starting a company, so I felt bad. If US politics is messy, the US economy shakes, and the world follows. You’re doing well, but if a rock hits you, you might fall. Be careful in everything.”
“…”
“Never mind. Tastes bad. I was just bullshitting. Fantasy. Would the US really collapse over a political fight? Economic growth is rocketing and there are other triggers.”
Black Monday had hit exactly as he said.
I’d forgotten.
‘He really knows his stocks…?’
His account was small, so I never made big money off him, but every time I saw his returns I was shocked. In my past life I’d dabbled too.
‘Why did this guy even work at a trading company…?’
I remembered. He’d joined as a fund manager, handled big money, then quit scared. He couldn’t handle the risk.
While stuck in the military, could he have sensed the US financial crisis from rumors? No exact prediction, but a feeling?
Impossible.
“You’re a regressor, aren’t you?!”
“What? What the hell are you talking about?”
The idiot blinked.
He didn’t seem like a regressor. If he were, he’d know I was one and not hide it. He wouldn’t speak so casually.
“No. Maybe I’m drunk. I’m working on the next project.”
“Really? You said you have to work tomorrow. Let’s stop here for now. Come back on your day off and have a real drink. Oh! Can I visit your company? I’m dying to know how you work.”
“Anytime. Actually… I have a proposal.”
“What?”
“You. Want to work with me?”